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There are many ways to live life. One approach is to follow your passion, maintain perspective and make a positive contribution to the planet.

Some people take these steps in their daily lives. They aim to appreciate life, be kind and encourage other people. They continue to be curious, gather knowledge and try to see the big picture. They aim to do positive things during their time on the planet.

People can also gain strength by having a sense of perspective. There are several definitions for perspective. When it comes to daily life, however, here are some of the dictionary definitions.

To think about a situation or a problem in a wise and reasonable way.

To keep a sense of proportion and understand the relative importance of things in life.

To see the big picture, understand what is happening and make wise decisions.

People who have perspective express this in different ways. They may choose, for example:

To recognise that they may be small in the great sweep of history but that their actions do have consequences – both for themselves and other people.

To continue to learn, make sense of life and develop.

To serve something greater than themselves – such as a spiritual faith, a purpose or a sense of vocation.

Malala Yousafzai is somebody who took some of these steps. She believes passionately in women having the right to an education. The Taliban ordered her to be executed, but she recovered and went on to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

David Letterman interviewed Malala about her view of life and whether she had a sense of purpose. She answered in the following way.

When I woke up and realised that I had survived such a brutal attack – and I saw death so close – I realised that maybe this life is for a purpose.

I decided that I’ll give this life to girls’ education, and speak out for them, and give it purpose.

Because we have to die one day, and so why not do good and do as much as we can to help others?

Malala explains her journey in more detail on her website. Here are some excerpts.

I don’t want to be thought of as the ‘girl who was shot by the Taliban’ but the ‘girl who fought for education.’ This is the cause to which I want to devote my life.

I had the choice to stay silent and be killed or to speak up and be killed.

My story is the story of thousands of children from around the world. I hope it inspires others to stand up for their rights.

The terrorists thought they would change my aims and stop my ambitions, but nothing changed in my life except this: weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage were born.

Let us pick up our books and our pens, they are the most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.

The extremists are afraid of books and pens, the power of education frightens them. They are afraid of women.

Malala accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on 10 December, 2014, with Indian children’s rights and education advocate Kailash Satyarthi. She contributed her entire prize money of more than $500,000 to financing the creation of a secondary school for girls in Pakistan.

She and her father set up The Malala Fund in 2013. You can read more about its aims via the following link.

Passion

Imagine that you want to follow a passion and do something that helps other people or the planet. This could be something you want to do in your personal or professional life.

You may feel passionately about encouraging people, passing on knowledge, creating beauty or working for human rights. You may want to help people improve their wellbeing, find satisfying work or have access to clean water. You may feel passionately about another activity or you may believe in a particular cause.

One point is worth mentioning. Here we are talking about a passion you would like to pursue. It does not mean you will be the world’s best at the activity. You would like to follow this passion, however, and translate it into making a contribution to people or the planet.

Richard Feynman encouraged people to take this step and do what they love. He believed that sometimes this exploration may take us to different places. Sometimes we don’t know where we will end up, but at least we will enjoy the journey.

You may want to take another approach if, for example, you want to earn a living doing the activity. The aims would then be:

To clarify the specific passion in which you have the ability to perform superb work and deliver success.

To clarify how you can translate this passion into a specific product or service that can help people – customers or employers – to achieve success.

To clarify the practical steps you can take to reach these people, perform superb work and help them to achieve success.

Sometimes you may follow a passion and it eventually turns into a profession. This may happen because you pursue a path you find fascinating and then opportunities appear. You then translate this passion into doing paid work.

In this article, however, we are looking at how you may want to follow a passion to make a contribution. This may be by doing something relatively small, but it may still help people or the planet.

If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to do the following things.

Describe a specific passion you can follow that may also make a positive contribution to people or the planet.

Describe the specific things you can do to follow this passion and make a positive contribution.

Perspective

Imagine that you have decided to follow a passion. Whilst it will be vital to be positively engaged, it may also be useful to have a sense of perspective.

The work you are doing may be serious, but it can be useful not to take yourself too seriously. Paradoxically, this can free you to do good work. One person explained this in the following way.

The work is important, but I am not important.

Different people develop this ability in different ways. Some of these approaches are summarised in the section below. You will, of course, find you own way to see things in perspective.

Different people develop this awareness in different ways. Some astronauts, for example, describe how the experience helped them to see the Earth as a whole system. Here are quotes from two astronauts.

I really believe that if the political leaders of the world could see their planet from a distance of 100,000 miles their outlook could be fundamentally changed.

That all-important border would be invisible, that noisy argument silenced. The tiny globe would continue to turn, serenely ignoring its subdivisions, presenting a unified façade that would cry out for unified understanding, for homogeneous treatment.

The earth must become as it appears: blue and white, not capitalist or Communist; blue and white, not rich or poor; blue and white, not envious or envied.

Michael Collins

JK Rowling went through difficult times but focused on what she believed was important in life. Speaking to 15,000 people at the 2008 Harvard Graduation ceremony, she described the benefits of failure and seeing things in perspective. She explained this in the following way.

Half my lifetime ago, I was striking an uneasy balance between the ambition I had for myself and what those closest to me expected of me. I was convinced the only thing I wanted to do was write novels.

However, my parents, both of whom came from impoverished backgrounds and neither of whom had been to college, took the view my over-active imagination was an amusing quirk that could never pay a mortgage, or secure a pension.

What I feared most was not poverty, but failure. I think it fair to say that by any conventional measure, a mere seven years after my graduation day, I had failed on an epic scale.

An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded, I was jobless, a lone parent, and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless.

The fears my parents had for me, and that I had for myself, had come to pass, and by every usual standard, I was the biggest failure I knew.

So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential.

I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me.

I was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realised and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter I adored, an old typewriter and a big idea.

And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.

The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive.

Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and has been worth more to me than any qualification.

Let’s return to your own life and work. Imagine that you have chosen to focus on pursing a specific activity. What can you do to maintain perspective when taking this path?

If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to do the following things.

Describe a specific passion you can follow that may also make a positive contribution to people or the planet.

Describe the specific things you can do to maintain perspective when pursuing this passion.

Positive ContributionTo The Planet

Different people choose different ways to follow their passion and make a positive contribution. Let’s look at several people who have chosen their own paths.

Alice and Richard Matzki are both artists who chose to explore aging. They embarked on a series of projects that confronted their fears and curiosity about growing old. This involved exploring physical changes, spirituality and death.

Drawing on their personal experiences and the wisdom of older mentors, they concluded that their elder years could be a time of ripening. It could be a time of harvesting rather than stagnation or despair.

Below is their mission statement from their website. This is followed by a video in which they describe their approach. You can discover more via the following link.

As part of our personal growth and our responsibility as elders, our intention is to share what we have learned about growing older.

By exhibiting our art, speaking and writing, we intend to spread the important message that aging is not the end of life, but can be a positive new beginning and the crowning culmination of a lifetime.

Many people are now choosing to become social entrepreneurs. They aim to do good work that helps people or the planet. There are also many organisations that support such people.

Echoing Green is such an organisation. Founded in 1987 by the leaders of General Atlantic, it has since supported more than 500 social entrepreneurs who have worked to improve life on the planet.

Below is an excerpt from its website. This is followed by a video that provides an insight into some of the activities it supports. You can discover more via the following link.

There are many ways to live life. One approach is to enjoy life, encourage people and deliver excellence. It is to count your blessings, be kind and do your best.

These themes are often demonstrated by people who are happy. During the past 40 years students of positive psychology have researched the topic of happiness. They have asked some of the following questions.

What kinds of people are happy? What are the principles such people follow to be happy?Is it possible for other people to follow these principles in their own ways to maintain or improve their happiness?

Here is an overview of some principles that have emerged from these studies. There is obviously more detail behind each of the principles.

Different people express these themes in different ways. Let’s begin by focusing on how people do what they enjoy and get positive energy.

Enjoyment

During the early 1970s I ran many programmes that encouraged people to build on their strengths. Sometimes it was hard for individuals to identify the deeply satisfying activities in which they delivered As rather than Bs or Cs.

Bearing this in mind, we began by focusing on enjoyment. The first exercise invited each person to take a flip chart and write the following.

Thirty Things I Enjoy Doing Are:

*

*

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People put the flip charts around the walls. Forming pairs, they then introduced themselves to each other by talking through the things they enjoyed doing. Later we focused on how they could make a living doing what they enjoyed.

Today I still follow similar themes. During one-to-one sessions I invite people to describe the things that give them positive energy. When doing workshops I invite people to do the following exercise and then share what they have written.

Doing what you enjoy – providing you don’t hurt others – can provide benefits for both yourself and other people. It can also give you the strength to overcome obstacles.

Robert Thurman, the Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies in the Department of Religion at Columbia University, underlines this in the video below. He believes we can help others by focusing on happiness, even in our darkest hours.

Some people are so full of angst, he says, that they create bad vibes around them. This does not help anybody. It is important not to submit to the forces that have spread fear and created problems.

If we become consumed by fear, we are giving in to those forces. We may then become dependent on those same people to solve the problems. But they won’t.

Robert repeats the importance of beginning with ourselves. This is the best place to start expressing a positive spirit. Here is the official introduction to the Big Think interview which is shown below.

Thurman’s advice is, that even in the midst of life’s gloom and doom, we should try to figure out how to understand things to be so joyful, that even if they kill you you’ll die happy.

Let’s return to your own life and work. What are the things you can do to continue to enjoy life? What would be the benefits of doing these things?

You may want to maintain a sense of gratitude, play your favourite music, nurture your garden and spend times with positive people. You may want to walk regularly, give yourself time to think, pursue creative projects or tackle particular challenges.

Doing these things will do more than bring enjoyment. They will develop your strength to deal with challenging situations. They may also increase your ability to give to other people.

If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to do the following things.

Describe the specific things you can do to continue to enjoy life.

Describe the specific benefits – both for yourself and others – of doing these things.

Encouragement

There are many models for doing your best to help other people. One approach is to be an encourager. This approach came home to me when I began doing social work in the late 1960s.

As part of my education, I interviewed many different people to learn about development. The people I met included social workers, educators, therapists and leaders in their respective fields. The first question I asked was:

What has helped you to grow most in your life?

Different people answered this question in different ways, but several key themes emerged. They said some of the following things.

I had somebody who encouraged me. They made me feel as if I was the centre of their world.

They encouraged me to build on my strengths, but they also explained what I might need to do to thrive. They said things like:

“Be who you are only more so. But remember, if you are going to be a deviant you will always have to over-deliver.”

They were supportive, but they also drew clear lines if I did something that was not acceptable. They then gave me a positive alternative by saying something like:

“In the future, it would be helpful if you did … rather than …”

Different people encourage others in different ways. Some do this in their daily lives by doing the following things.

They look for when people come alive and then encourage them to do more of these things.

They encourage people to build on their strengths and, when appropriate, find ways to manage any weaknesses.

They pass on knowledge that enables people to achieve their picture of success.

Some people do work which encourages other people. Depending on their strengths, they may pursue some of the following paths.

They may work as an educator, counsellor, coach, mentor, trusted advisor or in some other role that encourages people.

They may do positive work – such as providing food, health care, information, software, books, knowledge, solutions or other products and services – that encourages people.

They may create environments in which people, teams and organisations can do superb work.

Encouragers sometimes do more than support people on a one-to-one basis. They may also aim to lead a project, school, team or organisation. The culture they create can reach many people and produce a lasting legacy.

Such encouragers are like good gardeners. They create an environment in which people can grow. How do they make this happen?

Certainly they provide encouragement, but they also combine elements that may at first sight seem paradoxical. They get the right balance between encouragement, education, enablement and enforcement.

Let’s explore some of the steps people take to make this happen.

Explaining The Environment

Encouraging leaders, for example, are moral and explain the culture before people join a project, team or organisation. They then give people the chance to decide if they want to contribute towards achieving the goals.

Different leaders use different ways to explain the environment. Some say something along the following lines when describing the project to people.

The goals of the project are …

The guidelines we encourage people to follow to achieve the goals are …

The reasons for encouraging people to follow these guidelines are …

Let me know if you would like to follow these guidelines and make a positive contribution towards achieving the goals.

People can take time to reflect and decide if they want to opt into contributing to the culture.

Encouragers then follow certain guidelines for creating and maintaining a stimulating environment. They focus on the following themes.

Encouragement

They provide encouragement. They provide a stimulating and supportive environment in which motivated people can grow.

Education

They provide – in its widest sense – education. This includes providing knowledge, wisdom and models that people can use to achieve positive results.

Enablement

They provide practical tools that enable people to shape their futures and achieve ongoing success.

Enforcement

They provide protection. They are prepared to act as enforcers and protect the environment from those who want to spoil it for others.

If somebody transgresses the agreed guidelines, for example, the leader returns to the original explanation they gave about the culture. They say something like the following.

Let’s go back to the original contract regarding the culture that is required to ensure the project succeeds.

The goals of the project are …

The guidelines we encourage people to follow to achieve the goals are …

The reasons for encouraging people to follow these guidelines are …

Let me know if you would like to follow these guidelines and make a positive contribution towards achieving the goals.

Encouragers love to create a supportive environment. When necessary, however, they are prepared to act as guardians of the culture. They do whatever is necessary to protect the environment for the people who want to develop.

Let’s return to your own life and work. Imagine that you want to continue to be an encourager. How can you support people in your own way?

If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to do the following things.

Describe the specific things you can do to encourage people.

Describe the specific benefits – both for yourself and others – of doing these things.

Excellence

Imagine that you want to do what you enjoy and deliver excellence. There are many models for making this happen. The following section explores one approach.

Enjoyment

You can focus on a specific activity you enjoy doing in which you may be able to deliver excellence. How to choose such an activity? One approach is to clarify the deeply satisfying activities in which you can deliver As rather than Bs or Cs.

You may do this when encouraging people, writing an article or teaching a class. You may do it when playing a sport, designing a website, leading a team or doing another activity. It can be worth asking yourself some of the following questions.

When do I feel in my element – at ease and yet able to excel? When do I enjoy the journey as much as reaching the goal? When do I make complicated things appear simple? What are the specific activities I find fascinating in which I also have a track record of finishing successfully?

Imagine that you have decided to focus on a specific activity. It will then be time to move on to the next stage.

Enterprise

You can translate the activity you enjoy doing into a specific project. This may call for being proactive, energetic and enterprising. Sometimes it may also call for creating the opportunity to do such a project.

How to take these steps? One approach is to ask yourself the following questions.

What is the specific activity I want to pursue? How can I translate this into a specific project? What are the specific things I want to achieve by doing the project?

Will it be a personal project that I do for myself? Will it be a project that helps other people? Will it be a professional project? What will be the benefits – for myself or other people – of doing such a project?

If I want to do a professional project, who may be the potential customers? What are the specific challenges they face? How can the potential project help them to achieve their picture of success?

How can I find or create the opportunity to do such a project? If it is a personal project, how can I create the time to do it properly? When do I want to start and finish the project?

If it is a professional project, how can I find potential sponsors – customers or employers – who may benefit from such a project? How can I reach these people in a way that fits my values system? How can I make clear working contracts with them about the specific things I will deliver by doing the project?

Looking at the specific project, what is my definition of excellence? What are the real results I want to achieve? What is the picture of success? What will be happening that will show me that I have delivered excellence?

What are the key strategies I can follow to give myself the greatest chance of success? What is the support I require to achieve the goals? What else can I do to increase the chances of delivering the project successfully?

Imagine that you have started doing the specific project. It will then be time to move on to the next step.

Effectiveness

You can then do effective work. This calls for clarifying the strategies you can follow that are most likely to deliver success. It is vital to clarify:

What mountain you are climbing – making sure it is the right mountain – and translating this into a clear picture of success.

Why you are climbing it and making sure everybody understands the benefits.

How you can climb the mountain in the most effective way that will give you the greatest chance of success.

Some people confuse efficiency with effectiveness. The problem can be, however, that people are simply being more efficient at climbing the wrong mountain.

Great workers clarify what works and follow these strategies in an effective and efficient way. They often demonstrate elements of OCD – Obsessive Compulsive Discipline – and maintain good habits.

Such people follow a certain rhythm each day. They make the best use of their prime times – the times when they have most energy – and work in the way they find most effective.

They also keep doing reality checks. They keep asking: “What is working? How can I do more of these things? What can I do better and how?” They implement the findings and keep producing fine work.

Imagine that you are doing this in your own way. It will then be time to move on to the next stage.

Excellence

Great workers going beyond being effective and aim to achieve excellence. They keep doing the basics and then add the brilliance. Sometimes they reach the goals by adding that touch of class.

Excellence is something that can make your soul sing. You may recognise it when watching a superb athlete, seeing a wonderful piece of work or even experiencing great customer service.

Different people have different views about how to achieve excellence. Some quote Aristotle who provided the following definition.

Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.

Excellence can take different forms in different situations. Let’s look at one situation where you may want to deliver such high standards.

Imagine that you work as a trusted advisor. You will aim to pass on knowledge and practical tools that helps the client to achieve success. Bearing in mind your strengths, you will do this in your own way.

Whatever approach you use, however, you will probably prepare properly for the session. Different trusted advisors do this in different ways. Some use the following framework.

Let’s return to your own life and work. Imagine that you want to go beyond being effective and deliver excellence.

You may want to add that touch of class when helping a person, renovating a house or leading a workshop. You may want to do it when curating an exhibition, designing a website, running an event or doing another activity.

If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to do the following things.

Describe the specific things you can do to deliver excellence.

Describe the specific benefits – both for yourself and other people – of doing these things.